1. Technical Field
The invention relates to methods and materials involved in evaluating cardiovascular conditions. Specifically, the invention relates to methods and materials involved in determining whether or not a mammal has an unstable plaque.
2. Background Information
Coronary artery disease is characterized by long periods of clinical stability with few or no symptoms. In addition, classical pathologic studies have demonstrated that the disease is commonly far advanced anatomically before any symptoms are reported (Blumgart H L et al., Am. Heart Journal, 19:1 (1940)). An additional characteristic of coronary artery disease is a propensity to an abrupt, sometimes catastrophic, change in a previous stable or silent clinical course leading to a variety of acute coronary syndromes (Fuster V et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 326:310-318 (1992)).